Shimla, July 12: The Himachal Pradesh government has executed a massive administrative shake-up, issuing immediate transfer and posting orders for 17 Indian Administrative Service and 22 Himachal Pradesh Administrative Service officers. As part of the extensive reassignment, Sachin Kanwal has been designated as the new Commissioner of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.
Kanwal, a 2009-batch HPAS officer, moves into the civic chief role from the Chief Minister’s office, where he was serving as additional secretary. He replaces the outgoing commissioner, Bhupender Kumar, who has now been shifted to serve as the managing director of the Himachal Pradesh General Industries Corporation Limited.
The restructuring also altered the leadership landscape across senior state departments and educational institutions. Rawther Dawood Nazeem, a 1995-batch IAS officer, took charge as the additional chief secretary for Home, Vigilance, MPP and Power, and NCES. This shift effectively relieves Chief Secretary Kamlesh Kumar Pant of his additional oversight of the home and vigilance departments.
Concurrently, Onkar Chand Sharma has absorbed the additional charge of the transport department alongside his duties in tribal development, while Devesh Kumar adds animal husbandry to his extensive portfolio in finance, planning, and public works. M Sudha Devi assumes the role of principal secretary for forests and industries while retaining her post in the personnel department, and Ashish Singhmar takes on supplementary responsibilities within the health and family welfare sector.
“The latest changes aim to strengthen administration in municipal bodies, educational institutions, and district-level offices,” an administrative representative stated following the release of the official notification. “This alignment is intended to elevate local governance and public delivery platforms.”
In other significant shifts within the state capital, Gian Sagar Negi moves from his position as registrar of Himachal Pradesh University to serve as additional district magistrate for protocol in Shimla. In a direct swap, Jyoti Rana transitions out of the protocol department to assume the registrar’s mantle at the university. Further completing the district transitions, Dr. Laiq Ram Verma has been relieved of his developmental duties in Sirmaur to spearhead HIMFED as its managing director.
